J.D. Drew hit .278/.384/.489 with 242 home runs over a 14-year career. His glove was worth 69 runs in the outfield according to TotalZone. For his solid bat and above-average glove, Drew was worth a substantial 44.9 WAR. That’s comparable to Hall of Famer Edd Roush and Indians & Tigers legend Rocky Colavito. He has more career WAR than early 20th-century hall of famers Hugh Duffy and Roger Bresnahan. I’m not saying that J.D. Drew belongs in the Hall of Fame. But, at one time, there is a possibility that he could’ve gotten there.

Drew’s 1998 Fleer Update Rookie Card is a really nice looking piece. His card #U100 in the set got plenty of attention from prospectors in the baseball card hobby. As a can’t miss prospect, over six thousand J.D. Drew Fleer Update cards were sent in to PSA. As of May 2019, there are 819 PSA 8, 3477 PSA 9, and 2066 PSA 10 copies in existence. Today, you can buy a copy of a PSA 10 graded J.D. Drew rookie card for $4 to $5 plus shipping. What happened?

Actually, J.D. Drew turned out to be extremely good. After murdering AA and AAA in 1998, Drew had a torrid 14 game introduction to the major leagues, hitting .417/.463/.972. But, in 1999, after hitting well in AAA, his first rookie season was actually pretty mediocre with the bat (91 OPS+) but exceptional with the glove in center field (17 runs above average). So, in real life, he was worth 2.7 WAR, but that had to be a let down for everyone who had invested in his rookie card.

The 2000 season was a good one, though, for Drew. He’d hit 18 HR, steal 17 bases, and have a .880 OPS, good for a 121 OPS+. 2001 was a monster year, as he hit for a 160+ OPS. But even then, he started missing games here and there with nagging injuries. This would be a theme throughout his career. He would only play more than 140 games in a season three times. Even so, he racked up 18.1 WAR in 6 seasons with St. Louis.

After the 2003 season, Drew was traded along with Eli Marrero for Ray King, Jason Marquis, and Adam Wainwright. It would be a good trade in the end for the Cardinals as Wainwright blossomed into an ace pitcher. But it was also good for the Braves, who got Drew’s biggest season and the only season in which he hit more than 30 HR - .305/.436/.569 with 31 HR and 12 steals for 8.3 WAR.

Drew was looking pretty good at this point with 26.4 WAR in 7 seasons Interestingly, though, Drew had zero All-Star game appearances, despite being an All-Star level player in all but 2003, and he only played 100 games that year and still collected 2.5 WAR. That’s because his power numbers were good, but not great, and he missed a lot of games with nagging injuries.

A two-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers proved fruitful as he posted 3.2 and 4 WAR seasons. What’s most impressive is that his 3.2 WAR season was in an injury-marred 2005 campaign in which he played only 72 games. The Red Sox really liked what they saw in 2006 and gave Drew a five-year, $80 million contract.

While many Red Sox fans seem to remember only the beginning and end of that contract ,Drew actually was pretty good with the Red Sox. After an injury-marred 2007 in which he still managed to play 140 games but diminished at both the plate and the field, he was actually an important piece of the Red Sox’s run to winning the 2007 World Series. In 2008, Drew played very well and earned his first All-Star game appearance, and then he got hurt again...

Fortunately, Drew managed to be just as good in 2009 and actually played 140 games. But in 2010, despite playing 139 games, his nagging injuries were clearly eroding his ability at the plate, although he was still a 3 WAR player thanks to still being above league average and very good on defense. In his first four seasons with the Red Sox, he collected 12.2 WAR. That’s not a horrible return on investment for $64 million over four years.

Unfortunately, at age 35 in 2011, the wheels just fell off for Drew. He would actually be “worth” -0.9 WAR for the Red Sox in 81 games, a season in which the wheels fell off for the Red Sox in general. Had he not been hurt, Drew could’ve helped save that 90-win season. But, he was clearly a washed-up player at that point. A lot of people remember the broken down Drew, and it’s too bad because he actually was a pretty good player.

The problem is that being “pretty good” doesn’t get you in the Hall of Fame, nor does it help you do well in the baseball card market. Drew was a very calm and quiet player and many people had the impression that he refused to play unless he felt one hundred percent. But, as someone who watched Drew a great deal, I can say that when he did play, he played very hard. He had a great batting eye and a great swing that could do a lot of damage when he was locked in. Drew was also a very underrated fielder, I feel. His power numbers such as home runs and RBI weren’t eye-popping, but he made up for those with his on-base skills and overall ability to hit for extra bases. He was a perennial All-Star level player that just missed too much time and never really became beloved by any fan base.

Had Drew not missed substantial time in several seasons, it’s quite likely that he would be on the Hall of Fame bubble, right? It’s more likely that Drew’s quiet demeanor and unimpressive power numbers would’ve pretty much eliminated any chance of people seriously considering him for the Hall. Drew actually had a great career, considering how many injuries he suffered. But, he suffered those injuries playing hard and he stuck with the game he loved for nearly a decade and a half in the Major Leagues. That’s worth remembering. So, his rookie card being worth only $5 in top condition is actually quite a shame, although as far is the card market is concerned, it’s probably correct.

Still, J.D. Drew is a better baseball player than you may remember. I know he was better now than I realized back then. But, from a sports card investment standpoint, wow, did he let a lot of people down. Of course, it’s not Drew’s fault that over 6000 copies of a piece of cardboard were submitted to PSA for grading. (Plus who knows how many more to Beckett?) He just played the game he loved hard, and made the Cardinals look pretty good for choosing him fifth overall in the draft.

This post features products available at ThePit.com - where you can trade sports card and hobby boxes like stocks!

Topps Update prices have soared in recent months. Why is that? Has the popularity of the 2011 Mike Trout Topps Update rookie card worn off on the entire brand? Because these sets often have what are considered the “true” Major League rookie cards for MLB players, it’s no surprise that sets with big name players have value. But, why have they sold so fantastically well in 2019?

Topps has been printing Update sets for a long time, going back to when they were called Topps Traded back in 1981. These sets consisted of players who were traded during the season and also rookies that were called up during the season. In the past, Update sets were typically factory sets, in which you got the full set in one purchase. This was a popular trend in the 80s, fueled by competition between the three major brands (Topps, Fleer and Donruss). For Topps Update, sets were sold in complete form all the way through 1994. But in 1995 Topps turned Update into a set that had to built the traditional card collecting way, through opening packs.

Topps seemed to decide that variations were the way to sell the Update product, which started out as “Traded” and would later become called Updates & Highlights and later just Update. That was probably a good move, since the popularity of the factory sets depended entirely on whether there were hot rookie cards that people wanted to chase. By turning them into booster pack sets, they could include some inserts and create a chase for the rookies and stars in the set.

Topps was right. Eventually, they would start including relic cards and even autograph cards. They later included photo variations and other short printed versions of cards in the set. Variations are hot with collectors, especially player collectors, who just need to have the short-printed variations for their personal collections. So, even though the Update sets don’t have large base checklists, pulling individual cards is actually more difficult than you would think. Now, you don't just chase key rookie cards. You now have multiple other cards of those rookies to chase, as well.

Is Topps Update produced in smaller quantities than the Bowman sets? There isn’t any data to show this, but there is definitely a crazy amount of demand for these sets. Having short printed (SP) variations, especially ones that are serial numbered, has made the Topps Update set a major favorite every fall. The scarcity of the SPs clearly helps to create enthusiasm for the product.

People really do like the photography and design of the Update cards. But, what drives the recent Update sales are the pure amount of good players included in the sets. Then when you consider the short-printed photo variations and serial numbered parallels, suddenly you can be opening multiple cards of the same player - something that is pretty cool for collectors..

Let’s take a look at three of the best Topps Update sets in recent memory: 2015, 2017, and 2018 Topps Update.

Kris Bryant is featured right on the box of 2015 Topps Update, and after a 2018 season that was awful by his standards, he has bounced right back in 2019. He is the chase card in the 2015 Topps Update set. Lindor got off to a slow start in 2019 due to injury. Correa had a rough 2018 but has bounced back nicely in 2019. Buxton showed signs of breaking out in spring training, and has enjoyed some success in early 2019. Noah “Thor” Syndergaard has posted inconsistent results in 2019, but his underlying peripherals such as quality of contact and walk-to-strikeout ratio are still solid.

While 2018 wasn’t a bad year for Bryant considering injury, it was bad by his standards. A lot of fans hoped he’d bounce back, and through late-May, he was on pace for his best season yet. His quality of contact and peripherals back up the comeback.

A calf injury during spring training, plus another injury, got Lindor off to a slow start. But collectors seemed to stick with him, and while he’s not hitting at the pace of 2017 or 2018, he’s still been good.

Buxton is better known for his speed and defense, but he has power that before has only been glimpsed at the major league level. With the Twins playing well, Buxton is finally putting things together, making those collectors that believed in him quite happy.

“Thor” has had a back and forth 2019 season through May, but the Mets haven’t been all too good, either. The good news for his collectors is that he’s still striking guys out and not walking too many people. Giving up 8 HR so early after giving up all of 9 HR in 2018 is really all that’s the problem. He should be fine.

Just on the strength of these five players, 2015 Topps Update is still a solid set. In late May 2019, these boxes sell on eBay for about $180 to $185 when including shipping. This is an strong surge from when they were selling between $100 to $120 (shipping included) in April. In early May they jumped up to about $150 on average and haven’t looked back.

Without a doubt, the strong seasons from Bryant and Correa, plus good showings from Lindor and Buxton, are key reasons for the jump in price. Syndergaard’s Update rookie card is still a popular card, too. Beyond the big five names, there are also rookie cards for hot 2019 players like Gio Urshela of the Yankees and Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto also has a rookie card in the set. You’re guaranteed at least one auto or relic card (aka a “hit”) in every box, and those hits can be quite good in this set.

Aaron Judge was incredible in his 2017 rookie season and while injured some in 2018 he still put up good numbers. 2019 hasn’t been kind to Judge on the injury front. Fortunately, Cody Bellinger decided to become the talk of the baseball during the first couple months of 2019, so he’s become the key player to chase in the 2017 Topps Update set.

The injury prone Judge hits when he plays, there is no doubt about that. Of course, if you’re on the injured list, you’re not producing, and that hurts the value of your cards. Once one of the hottest guys in the hobby, his continued injury risk has certainly concerned many collectors and especially investors.

Bellinger’s video game numbers probably won’t last, but cutting your strikeout rate in half from your rookie season (26.6% in 2017 to 13.8% in 2019) means there’s obvious growth here as a hitter. Best of all for Bellinger fans, StatCast sees his quality of contact as backing up this ridiculous offensive output. It predicts a .399 batting average and a .745 slugging percentage. So, while he won't finish the season with these averages, this hot streak reflects a truly great hitting talent.

Obviously, Cody Bellinger’s massive 2019 season is carrying the set, but the return of Judge and the continued success of these other players is going to help the sales of 2017 Topps Update. You can actually find a box of 2017 Topps Update between $100 to $110 on eBay. But, in just April 2019, you could find boxes for $70 shipped, and even less per box if you bought two box lots.

But, most collectors are opting for the Jumbo box which has 10 massive 50-card packs. A regular box of 2017 Topps Update contains only one autograph or relic card, but the Jumbo box guarantees an autograph AND two relic cards. Those are selling between $155 and $165. The Jumbo box is clearly the better buy, because of the guarantee of an autograph. Like 2015 Update, these boxes have jumped in the past month: they were $100 to $120 in late April! It’s not hard to see why these jumped so quickly, though - since the multiple variations of Cody Bellinger cards in the set are on fire right now.

2018 was a good year for rookies. The Braves had Ronald Acuna Jr and Ozzie Albies perform, and they continue their success in 2019. Juan Soto was a nice surprise for the Nationals and has become one of the hottest players in the entire hobby. Shohei Ohtani lived up to his hype in 2018, though injury has set him back big time in 2019, especially on the pitching side. Gleyber Torres turned out to be an awesome steal by the Yankees, as he’s bloomed into an everyday infielder who has become an anchor for the Bronx lineup.

While Ohtani won’t pitch in 2019 due to arm injury, the lefty slugger recently returned to the Angels lineup as the Designated Hitter. It’s been a bit of a slow start, but he’s been OK. More encouraging is that he’s hitting the ball hard (95.3 MPH average exit velocity), so the power numbers should come. He’s still a good investment at least on the offense side. That’s good news for this set.

Soto burst onto the scene in 2018 seemingly out of nowhere for the Nationals. While he’s experiencing a bit of a sophomore slump through mid-May, striking out a lot more than in 2018, he’s still been a productive hitter. He’s still an exciting player, although perhaps expectations should be a bit more tempered.

While he had a strong debut in 2017, Albies really came into his own in 2018. In 2019, he’s pretty much the same player as he was in 2018, but is walking somewhat more and having more consistent quality of contact. He should be the Braves starting second baseman for quite awhile.

On the surface, Gleyber is having an even better season for the Yankees than in his rookie year. He’s actually striking out less, too. He is also walking less, though. Overall, though, he’s hitting for the same amount of power, but getting a bit more lucky on balls in play. No reason for Yankees fans to really be that concerned and collectors probably should be happy with the power number results alone.

Like with 2015 and 2017 Update, you are guaranteed one Auto or Relic card in each hobby box. The 2018 Topps Update hobby box is selling for about $120 including shipping on eBay, but the jumbo boxes are pushing $175 to $200. But, even in late April, you could find hobby boxes closer to $100, and some as cheaply as $70. The jumbo boxes have jumped about 20 percent, as well.

Because of the sheer number of relevant players in the 2018 Topps Update set, the regular hobby boxes of this set could push $150, especially with a big return from Ohtani (which is very possible) and continued success of others like Soto, Acuna, et al. There are also breakout performers like Austin Meadows and Shane Bieber in the set, too, so there is even more potential in this set from an investment standpoint.

Many baseball card collectors consider the 1963 Topps #553 Rookie Starscard to be a Willie Stargell rookie card. While that is absolutely true, the legendary Pittsburgh Pirate shares his rookie card with three other outfielders. As is the case with many early rookie cards, Hall of Fame ballplayers share their cards with lesser names. But, since these guys share a Rookie Card with a Hall of Famer, why not see how their careers turned out?

Brock Davis was certainly never a star at the MLB level. In fact, he’d only get into 242 games over parts of 6 seasons, amassing a whopping 0.2 WAR over that time. He carried a decent .331 OBP in his career, but had only one home run and not much else.

Jim Gosger never had much of an MLB career, although he hung around for parts of ten seasons. His 1963 debut with the Red Sox was a dreadful 19 plate appearance cup of coffee. Gosger actually wouldn’t resurface in the Majors until 1965, when he wasn’t a star but instead a league average hitter who gave the Red Sox 1.4 WAR in only 81 games. He would be perfectly acceptable in 1966 as well, but he’d be traded midseason to the Kansas City A’s with a couple other players for three players, including Jose Tartabull, who would be awful for the ‘66 and ‘67 Red Sox. (Tartabull’s son Danny would be a decent player, though). Gosger would carve out a basically replacement level career as a reserve outfielder. He was definitely NOT a star, with a career total of 2.3 WAR!

John Hernnstein is the worst player here, amassing NEGATIVE -2.0 WAR in his short career, 239 games over parts of 5 seasons. Not much to say about him other than he hit 6 home runs in 1964 for a Phillies team that had no business playing him in 125 games.

Meanwhile, this Willie Stargell fellow would amass 57.5 WAR over 21 seasons all for Pittsburgh. He’d hit .282/.360/.529 for an .889 career OPS (147 OPS+). He also hit 475 home runs. While he was a below average defensive outfielder and first baseman according to TotalZone, Stargell was easily a Hall of Fame player.

Considering the other three guys COMBINED for 0.5 WAR, I think it’s safe to say this is a Willie Stargell rookie card with three random guys. (Although, one is a Red Sox player so it counts for my Red Sox collection, which is funny to say!)

In 2010, Topps created a series of cards called “Cards Your Mom Threw Out” featuring vintage Topps cards with either a new “CMT” back or the original back. These are actually fairly sought after cards by collectors, especially those with the original backs. For me, as a Red Sox fan, the Luis Aparicio CMT-138 is one that’s a nice card to have, as 1973 was not only the last hurrah for “Looie,” but also a pretty good season overall.

Aparicio came to Boston before the 1971 season for second baseman Mike Andrews and infielder Luis Alvarado. Andrews had some nice years for Boston, and would have one more good year in 1971 before fading away. Alvarado never did much of anything. 1971 was a down year for Aparicio and was actually worse than replacement level according to Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (-0.5 WAR). He’d rebound in 1972 to be a league average shortstop (2.0 WAR). But 1973 was a nice final season for the future Hall of Fame shortstop.

In 1973, Aparicio hit only .271/.324/.309 with the bat, which wasn’t too good, but he did walk more than he struck out and added 13 stolen bases. He was only caught once, too. During the season he passed the 500 SB milestone to finish with 506 steals. Besides his value on the base paths, Aparicio was worth a whopping 11 runs above average according to TotalZone. That was after being “worth” -8 runs in 1971 and -4 runs in 1972. In his career, Aparicio would be worth 149 runs above average over 18 seasons. He was definitely not an overrated defender and won nine Gold Gloves in his career as an elite defender.

Luis Aparicio’s original 1973 Topps card is hardly a pricey one. You can find one graded PSA 8 for under $10 and one in PSA 9 for around $20 to $25. There are only 8 PSA 10 1973 Topps Aparicio cards, and those can fetch several hundred dollars. Aparicio would also have a 1974 Topps card.that are actually similarly priced, with only 4 PSA 10 copies currently graded. Luis Aparicio’s later cards with the Red Sox aren’t super expensive, but since he’s a Hall of Famer who made a living with his speed and glove, he’s worth adding to any vintage baseball card collection.

While 1960 Topps is rightly better known for a much more valuable Red Sox rookie card in Carl Yastrzemski, there was another Boston rookie card that deserves attention: that of starting pitcher Earl Wilson in 1960 Topps. The right-handed Wilson actually didn't start off that well in his early two stints in 1959 and 1960. In fact, he returned to the minors in 1961. However, when he came back in 1962, he stayed in the Majors for quite some time.

Earl Wilson had a decent first full season in the Majors in 1962, with a 3.90 ERA in 31 games and 28 starts. Also, since pitchers still had to bat in the American League for most of his career, Wilson added 3 home runs at the plate in 1962. Throughout his career, Wilson hit .195/.265/.369 with 35 home runs, not at all shabby for a pitcher.

In his first couple of seasons, Wilson was rather wild, walking 111 in 1962 and 105 in 1963. But his control vastly improved in 1964, which was actually one of his worst seasons in the Majors. From 1959 to 1966, Wilson was worth 8.2 WAR on the mound and 3.9 WAR at the plate, with a 4.10 ERA (95 ERA+) in 156 starts and 174 total appearances.

From these numbers, it would seem Earl Wilson was a solid but unexceptional pitcher for the Red Sox. That much is true, but as with many decent players that the Red Sox had throughout the 20th century, they traded him away before he delievered on his promise. In mid-1966, Wilson was traded to the Detroit Tigers for utility player Don Demeter. While Demeter was a decent player in parts of 1966 and 1967 for the Red Sox, Wilson was exceptional for the rest of 1966. He'd produce 12 WAR for the Tigers over 5 seasons with a 3.51 ERA in 145 starts (149 total appearances).

Wilson's career would end in 1970 with the San Diego Padres, but he ended his career with 27.6 WAR in 11 seasons. The Red Sox would've been happy to have him from late 1966 to 1969, missing out on 3 of his best seasons in the Major Leagues. It always seemed like the Red Sox were one or two pieces away from winning championships, and Earl Wilson could've been one, just like so many others the Red Sox gave up on too soon.

Most people think of Hall-of-Fame third baseman George Kell as a Detroit Tiger. That’s not surprising, as he played in parts of eight seasons with the Tigers and was a Tigers broadcaster for thirty-seven years. But, he started out with the Philadelphia A’s, and the Tigers actually traded Kell to the Boston Red Sox in 1952!

George Kell was actually part of a nine-player trade that involved Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky going to Detroit. After the trade, Kell hit .319/.390/.453 for the Sox in 75 games. In 1953, Kell would hit 307.383.483 and enjoy a 3 WAR season. Unfortunately, 1953 would see him hit only .258/.361/.290 in 26 games for the Sox. He’d be traded to the White Sox for infielder Grady Hatton and $100,000. Hatton would finish out 1954 well with the Sox, and Kell would have one more good season with the White Sox in 1955.

There are actually a fair amount of George Kell baseball cards out there depicting the Hall of Fame ballplayer on the Red Sox. The most valuable are graded examples of 1953 Topps #138 and 1954 Bowman #50. Kell’s 1953 Topps card is valued around $300 for PSA 8 (Near Mint POP 76) examples, over $600 for PSA 8.5 (Near-Mint+ POP 5), and $1,750 for PSA 9 (Mint POP 8)! His 1954 Bowman is much more affordable at around $80 for a PSA 8 (POP 84 + 7 with an Off-Center Qualifier), $115 for a PSA 8.5 (POP 3) and $475 for a PSA 9 (POP 9)! There are about the same amount of PSA 8 and PSA 8.5 of each of these cards in existence, but they are still fairly rare.

While George Kell’s legacy is as a Detroit Tiger, his short, fairly productive time with the Boston Red Sox makes his key cards quite valuable to any serious Red Sox baseball card collector.

Searching online for the best sports cards to invest in for 2019? It’s likely you’ll be bombarded with lists of some of the most expensive cards in baseball, football, and basketball. You’ll also be told to review the 50 most watched sports cards on eBay to know what’s currently hot. But, if you want the quickest path to finding the best baseball, football, and basketball cards to buy right now, read on.

What’s Wrong with Watching the Most Watched Cards on eBay?

The problem with the idea of watching the most watched cards on eBay is two-fold. First, just because a card has a lot of people watching it, that doesn’t mean it actually has a huge market. This is especially the case with cards that are 1/1 or have other low serial numbers. While there’s always a market for these cards, they often make poor investments because they rely on a bidding war taking place to get high prices. If only one highly interested party shows up for the auction, the “hammer price” will doubtless be disappointing to the seller.

Yes, there’s always collector demand for these sorts of cards, and it’s cool to own something so truly rare. But, you need to be willing to bet on what a very small demand pool will give you, since so few collectors have the cash to buy unique or greatly limited cards. Or, you need to hold the card for a very long time. For investment purposes, these aren’t the cards you want to focus on. If you’re serious about sports card investing, you need cards that are both sought after and can be sold at any time for a fair return.

Another problem with cards that often come up on eBay as “most watched” is that they may represent minor league prospects or players currently on a hot streak. These tend to be more speculative buys, and if you’re fine with gambling, they can either pay off or sink you. Sure, you’ll see names on this list you’ll recognize like Mickey Mantle, Michael Jordan, and Tom Brady. While eBay is an established marketplace for sports cards, it isn’t a great place to actually track what cards are great investments... unless you already know exactly what you’re looking for!

There’s also the strategy of watching the cards with the most bids on eBay. While this approach is a more direct way of finding the cards that people are not wanting to let get away, it is also likely to lead to bidding wars. That’s not really a sound investment strategy, as you’ll probably pay far more for the card you want than it’s worth in the long-term marketplace.

So, what’s the best source of recommendations for investment-quality players and cards? You’ll want to check out ThePit 50 sports card indices.

What is ThePit?

ThePit is a bid/ask marketplace where you can trade real sports cards online like stocks without transaction fees. Their indices includes hot rookie cards, both graded and ungraded, as well as graded vintage cards. Card prices on ThePit are usually lower than the lowest buy-it-now price on eBay by a significant amount. When you remove the transaction fees, shipping cost and (increasingly) sales tax associated with trading cards requiring physical delivery (as on eBay), you save 15 percent or more on a card right away!

What are ThePit 50 Indices?

ThePit 50 indices are based on the top graded cards in each of baseball, football, and basketball. It takes the current “Sell Now” price of the card on ThePit multiplied by its graded population - which is publicly available information. The idea behind the indices is to establish a total population value (“market cap” in Wall Street terms) for individual cards in specific grades. This allows sports card collectors and investors the ability to truly treat sports cards like stocks.

Graded cards are more valuable than their raw counterparts in grades PSA 9 and 10 & BGS 9.5 and 10, and collectors only grade cards they feel are valuable. So, knowing which cards have both high populations and high sell prices lets you know what cards have the best market and overall value. Thanks to this index, you can take a lot of the guesswork and hours of research that go into figuring out what’s hot and what’s not.

So, what are some of the best sports cards to buy right now? Let’s see what thePit 50 index tells us in baseball, football, and basketball.

If you follow the game even casually, these names probably all sound familiar. But what’s key to thePit 50 is that it tracks only the key rookie cards of these players. There are so many baseball card products out there today that it’s overwhelming when choosing what cards are worth putting your money into. thePit 50 helps narrow the focus to the top cards you want to own!

Best Football Cards to Buy Right Now

Quarterbacks dominate the football card market and always have. Occasionally, a running back or wide receiver will have a big game or strong year and see a nice appreciation in their rookie cards. But if you look at the thePit 50 Football index, you’ll see it dominated by the best Quarterbacks in the league - Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers. Other top performing quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck may sneak in there. Even retired QB’s like Tony Romo occasionally make an appearance. It’s likely you’ll see young phenoms such at Patrick Mahomes II and Baker Mayfield make an appearance soon. Still, the investment value in football is definitely at the top.

Best Basketball Cards to Buy Right Now

Michael Jordan has and probably always will be the best player ever to invest in when it comes to basketball cards. But, LeBron James rookie cards are now surpassing the iconic 1986 Fleer Jordan rookie in price. Kobe Bryant is another names you can’t go wrong with when investing in basketball cards. Established stars like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant make appearances in the Top 50, as well as future Hall of Fame players like Dirk Nowitzki. While vintage players have value (such as the 1980 Bird/Erving/Johnson scoring leaders card), the latest stars are the most actively traded.

Why Trade Sports Cards Online at ThePit?

Since 1999, thePit allows you to build a sports card portfolio and trade online. This also saves you from other realized costs such as sales tax. Then, you can cash out your balance at any time (with a 10% fee) or have the physical cards listed in your portfolio shipped to you for a reasonable flat rate. It’s safe and secure. All you have to do is create a free account at ThePit, fund your account with a VISA or Mastercard, and you’re good to start buying and selling.

Super Bowl 53 belonged to the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, but a major part of the Patriots success came from Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman. The wide receiver joined the New England Patriots in the 7th round of the NFL draft after playing quarterback in college. Since then, he’s become one of Brady’s favorite targets and his talent was on full display in Atlanta as the Patriots beat the Rams 13-3.

With only 8 PSA 10 copies in existence, the Julian Edelman Topps Platinum Rookie Card has room to grow. The day after the Super Bowl, raw copies of this card were receiving bids exceeding $40. It’s a nice-looking rookie card and the Topps Platinum Edelman RC has a refractor version, as well as a white refractor, and a platinum refractor numbered to 1549.

But, while not a “true” rookie card, the 2010 Topps #325 Julian Edelman also saw quite a jump in demand after Super Bowl 53. Bids exceeding $10 were being seen on eBay for this base card. As of this writing, only a couple of PSA 10 copies exist, with one being listed for $199. It’s a nice “budget” option and is still a great card for Julian Edelman card collectors to own. Of course, because the 2010 Topps card is far more common, the 2009 Topps Platinum likely remains the better investment, along with the other serial-numbered and autographed Edelman cards on the market.

In his third season with the Los Angeles Rams, Jared Goff enjoyed a strong season at quarterback in the 2018-19 season. Appearing in Super Bowl LIII (53) opposite New England Patriots legend Tom Brady, there's obviously a lot of interest in his rookie cards.

Of course, the Patriots, Brady, and Julian Edelman stole the show in Super Bowl 53, and Goff very much struggled. While the poor performance has certainly put downward pressure on Goff's cards, there's still interest. Since he's still the Rams starting QB, this means a great buy-low opportunity for Rams fans and others who believed in the talent of this young quarterback.

There are many Jared Goff inserts, autographs, relic cards, and low-numbered parallel rookie cards to choose from. So, what is the best Jared Goff Rookie Card?

The most affordable Jared Goff rookie card is his 2016 Panini Score #332 base rookie card. This card has sold as high as $8 leading up to the Super Bowl. There’s also the Jared Goff Score NFL Draft Rookie Card #2, While it’s sold for as little as $2, gem mint 10 graded copies have sold for upwards of $25. There’s also a gold parallel (selling for $30) and a red parallel numbered to 50, selling for $50 or more.

But, the best Jared Goff Rookie Card to collect his the 2016 Panini Prizm #208. The set is beautiful looking and also has rookie cards of Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott, and Ezekiel Elliott. With 176 PSA 9 and 210 PSA 10 copies graded of the Jared Goff #208, this is clearly the rookie card of choice for collectors. PSA 10 copies already garner sales of $30 or more, but you can find PSA 9 copies for as little as $10.

There are also many unnumbered parallels to collect in 2016 Panini Prizm, including Blue, Flash, Green, Pink, Red, and Red/White/Blue Disco. There’s also numbered parallels: Orange to 299, Light Blue to 199, Blue Wave to 149, Purple Scope to 99, Red Crystals to 75, Green Power to 49, Camo to 25, Gold to 10, Gold Vinyl to 5, and Black Finite that’s a 1/1.

There are also highly-coveted autograph inserts of this RC, which when graded PSA 10 can sell upwards of $200 with rarer parallels getting sales north of $1500! The 2016 Panini Prizm #208 rookie card looks like the key RC that you’ll want to collect looking forward to Jared Goff’s promising career.

Michael Young may never reach the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he did have a memorable career, the majority which was spent with the Texas Rangers. Despite strong fielding percentages and high batting averages, though, Young is seen by many analytically-inclined baseball fans as an overrated player. Still, the career .300 hitter was overall a slightly above-average hitter and while he was below average defensively at second base, he wasn’t that bad at his natural position.

For me, what really hurt Young’s overall value was being forced over to shortstop, where he was far below average, and later to third base where he was comparatively even worse. To be fair, the one year Young won the Gold Glove at shortstop, he was actually 9 runs above average by TotalZone’s measure, although he was -4 runs below average by Defensive Runs Saved metrics.

But in the baseball card hobby, we don’t really care about defensive statistics unless your name is Ozzie Smith. But, Smith also added considerable value on the basepaths with stolen bases. To be fair to Young, he only stole 90 bases in his career, but was only caught 30 times. Sure, that doesn’t touch Ozzie’s 580 SB, against only 148 times caught. Ozzie also spent most of his career with the Cardinals, a team that’s always done very well in the card collecting world.

While Michael Young isn’t a player with expensive cards, he’s still an interesting, inexpensive target for baseball card collectors. In fact, he shares some high-end targets with a Hall of Famer and a future Hall of Famer. Let’s take a look at the best Michael Young baseball cards, from his rookie cards, autograph cards, and other memorabilia cards.

Michael Young Rookie Cards

2000 Topps Traded #T46 Michael Young

Michael Young’s first rookie card is the 2000 Topps Traded #T46. It’s often available for $2 or less and shows him with his first team, the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays would trade Young in July of 2000 along with Darwin Cubillan for pitcher Esteban Loaiza. It wasn’t a horrible trade, but the Jays would probably regret it.

Graded examples of this card are extremely rare, with only about 60 of each in PSA 9 and PSA 10 condition. Despite many being listed, they don’t sell that often. This set is mostly known for the Miguel Cabrera rookie card, of which there are 1677 graded PSA 10 copies. Interestingly, it’s a set full of decent rookie cards, including Adam Wainwright and Adrian Gonzalez.

The Chrome versions of 2000 Topps Traded, however, are much more plentiful for Michael Young, with about 125 of each PSA 9 and PSA 10 available. Like the base Traded graded copies, they simply don’t sell very often, despite being listed plenty often.

Prices range from $7.50 to $17.50 for this card! Michael Young also features on a couple other of Co-Signers cards with Nolan Ryan and Kevin Millwood.

2005 Topps Pristine Power Core Game Used BAT KNOB #MY Michael Young #’d to 5

Easily the best memorabilia card of Michael Young out there is the Game-Used Bat Knob from 2005 Topps Pristine. Only 5 copies were ever printed, and one sold for over $30 in January 2019.

Other Interesting Michael Young Baseball Cards

2003 Donruss Team Heroes #525 Michael Young

As a set full of some decent autograph cards, 2003 Donruss Team Heroes is a fairly valuable baseball card set. The Michael Young base card #525 is worth around $1 but the glossy version is worth $2 or more, as are most glossy base cards in the set. There’s also a version numbered to 20 which is valued at over $15. Overall, it’s a set you should be looking into, even if not specifically for Michael Young cards.

If you’re a big Texas Rangers fan, this is a particularly interesting subset of the Co-Signers set. None of them are worth much over $10, but they are cool looking cards. They are also serial-numbered to various amounts, including some #’d to 25. The Nolan Ryan would be my favorite here, as the Ryan Express is a huge hobby favorite.

2008 Topps Update Black #UH127 Michael Young / Derek Jeter #’d to 57

While not a memorabilia card, this card numbered to only 57 copies features Jeter, a future Hall of Famer. For that reason alone, this card can fetch north of $10. In the same set is a Black parallel base card of Michael Young #635 also numbered to 57 copies that can command about $2. The card he shares with Jeter seems like an easy investment to me.

Investing in Michael Young Baseball Cards

While Michael Young was a pretty good player who had some truly All-Star seasons, and is remembered fondly by many Texas Rangers fans, Michael Young baseball cards are among the coldest in the hobby. While there are many graded examples of his Topps Traded rookie cards, they simply don’t find buyers often. Even cards that he shares with Hall of Fame or future Hall of Fame talents tend to sell on the low side.

If you’re looking to make money on your investment in Michael Young cards, the best way to go is to buy one of those cards he shares with Derek Jeter, Nolan Ryan, or Ozzie Smith - all hobby favorites. Numbered relic cards are also a nice investment, since they can be had for cheap, and they can later be sold as part of a player collection.

As with any hobby, you should invest in what you like. If you’re a Rangers fan, or believe Michael Young is a player worth collecting, he’s not a bad choice. He’s just not going to bring much return on your investment in the future.

Juan Soto was quite the rookie sensation in 2018 for the Washington Nationals. With his strong on-base skills and plus power, he would’ve been the 2018 National League Rookie of the Year if not for Ronald Acuna Jr. With anticipation for a strong 2019 season and beyond, Juan Soto rookie cards are an extremely hot commodity in the baseball card hobby.

It’s always fun to watch what one-of-one sports cards sell for at auction. This rookie auto from Ultimate Leaf Draft fetched less than you’d think, under $150. If this is a card that interests you, there are other parallels numbered to 25, 15, 10, and 5.

This special framed Topps Gold Label card is available only through redemption - you can’t pull it from a pack. Of course, this makes this card a bit rarer than most, although these aren’t serial numbered. Despite getting quite a few bids, because it’s a bit of an oddball card, it will be interesting to see what sort of price this redemption rarity gets.

This orange parallel refractor in 2018 Topps Chrome Update sold for four figures on January 20th, 2019 with a sale price over $1200! It’s one of the nicest looking Soto rookie cards out there, so there’s no surprise that this highly sought after card is causing a bidding war..

Having one of the better rookie cards available from the “junk wax” 1987 Topps set, Bobby Bonilla did deliver on a good deal of his promise. With a .279/.358/.472 batting line, he was a well above average hitter (124 OPS+), but a somewhat below average defensive first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder. Overall, the total package was still an All-Star caliber player, especially in his Pittsburgh Pirates days.

Bobby Bonilla was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was lost to the Chicago White Sox in the Rule 5 draft in 1985. After being generally unimpressive with the White Sox, though, Chicago traded him back to Pittsburgh for starting pitcher Jose DeLeon. It wasn’t an awful trade, as DeLeon would go on to be a fine pitcher for a few years, though only briefly with the White Sox. But, Bonilla also became the player the Pirates originally hoped he would be. It wouldn’t happen in 1986, though.

Then, in 1987, Bonilla hit .300/.351/.481 with 15 HR and 77 RBI. He was on his way to having a few very strong years in a row. Bonilla was well liked at the time and he’d continue to be a productive major leaguer through the beginning of 1998 with the Florida Marlins. So, this is a pretty good rookie card.

While Tiffany and base versions sell of the 1987 Topps Bobby Bonilla rookie card sell for roughly the same, you may want to invest in the rarer of the two sets, which is Tiffany. With PSA populations in the low 30’s, Bonilla’s rookie card in mint to gem mint condition is definitely one to get graded. In early 2019, PSA-graded copies were selling for around $20.

Digging through all those generally worthless “junk wax” baseball cards of 1987 to 1993, you’ll occasionally find a card that commemorates a great season of a not so famous player. However, to celebrate Bob Tewksbury becoming the Mental Skills Coach of the Chicago Cubs, we take a look at his finest season, which happens to fall right in the Junk Wax era. In building a “Junk Wax Dynasty” it’s important to consider Tewksbury’s 6.4 WAR season with the 1992 St. Louis Cardinals.

The 1992 Cardinals didn’t do much; at 83-79, they placed 3rd in the NL East. Ozzie Smith, Ray Lankford and even Bernard Gilkey were all-star level players that year, but it wasn’t quite enough for them to make the playoffs. Tewksbury pitched like an ace that year, and he never again had a season quite like it, although he was decent in 1993 (2.7 WAR) and had two 3+ WAR years with the Twins at the end of his career.

Interestingly, FanGraphs sees Tewksbury’s 1993 season more favorably than his 1992 season. That’s because FanGraphs uses FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) for its WAR calculation rather than ERA. But for purposes of “Junk Wax Dynasty” we are focusing on results, which is why we’re using Baseball Reference’s ERA/RA9 (Runs Allowed/9) based WAR. FanGraphs has Tewksbury’s 1992 season being worth 4.0 WAR and his 1993 season at 4.3 WAR, thanks to an inflated BABIP (batting average on balls in play).

One thing that FanGraphs does show us, though, is that Tewksbury was probably a better pitcher than his Baseball Reference page may suggest. On Baseball Reference, Tewksbury was worth 21.3 wins in a 13 year career, 10 of those full seasons. But FanGraphs sees him as worth 31.3 wins. That’s because in his “worst” years, he actually pitched better than the results would suggest.

Tewksbury only had a career strikeout rate of 4.04 K/9, but a walk rate of merely 1.45 BB/9. He rarely gave up homers (0.71 HR/9), but with a batting average of balls in play of .300, he relied heavily on his defense. So his career ERA of 3.92 belied an FIP of 3.65. So, in reality, he was actually a slightly-above average pitcher who just had some bad luck with defense behind him.

In retrospect, Tewksbury’s 1993 season is actually better peripherally than his 1992 season. In 1992, he had a strikeout rate of merely 3.52 K/9 but a walk rate of only 0.77 BB/9. His strand rate was a high 80.8% and his BABIP only .257, which are big reasons why his 2.16 ERA was a mirage compared to his 3.14 FIP. His 1993 season featured a 4.09 K/9 and a 0.84 BB/9. But he suffered from a .316 BABIP and a more “normal” 70.3% strand rate (career 68.5%).

Still, Tewksbury was actually the pitcher that a lot of teams thought that he was, a workhorse that kept you in games. Suffice it to say, the Yankees should’ve never traded Tewksbury for Steve Trout to the Cubs. Unfortunately for Tewks, he didn’t pitch well for the Cubs and spent a lot of time in the minors until the Cubs let him go and the Cardinals picked him up. He pitched quite well for the Cardinals at AAA, and the rest is history.

If you’re looking to build a team with players from only 1987-1993, consider adding a 1992 Bob Tewksbury to your pitching staff. Heck, even a 1993 Bob Tewksbury would make a fine fourth or fifth starter. At the very least, you know he’ll do all he can to keep you in the game. He was definitely a mentally skilled pitcher, and perhaps, was actually pretty underrated in his time.

Relief pitchers are hardly a big deal in the baseball card hobby. Of course, guys like Dennis Eckersley and Lee Smith have their fans and collectors. But, a lot of the best relief pitchers out there, even the most consistent, don’t have much of a following. Still, when you’re building a dynasty baseball team out of cards from the Junk Wax era from 1987-1993, it’s good to find some diamonds in the rough, guys like Dale Mohorcic.

Who? Sure, Dale Mohorcic was never a household name. But in 1987, his efforts in relief for the Texas Rangers earned him 3.1 Wins Above Replacement for the Texas Rangers. That was a follow-up to a decent 1986 in which he earned 2.2 WAR. I’m sure you won’t hear people wax nostalgic about Dale, but he did have a couple of pretty good seasons as far as results are concerned.

Of course, with a strikeout rate of 4.3 K/9, that leaves a lot of your success up to the defense. Mohorcic’s FIP of 3.98 and FanGraphs WAR of 1.0 in 1987 (and 0.9 WAR in 1986) gives you more of an idea of the pitcher Mohorcic really was. Indeed, both his 1986 and 1987 seasons were fluky. He had a strand rate of 81.1% in 1986 and 80.1% in 1987, both of which are very high. He also had a BABIP of only .248, which is crazy low - although it was a more sustainable .295 in his good 1986 season.

So, who is Dale Mohorcic? Where did he come from, and what happened to him?

Dale Mohorcic the Journeyman

Mohorcic began his quest through the minor leagues actually began in the short-lived independent Northwest League with the Victoria Mussels. He was the ace of their staff in 1978 with a 2.02 ERA! Dale caught the attention of the Toronto Blue Jays, who purchased his contract. He was underwhelming in their farm system, though, and was released.

The Pirates were intrigued by Mohorcic, though, as a reliever. He actually enjoyed a fine season in 1980 mostly as a closer. The Pirates held onto him until after the 1984 season, trying him again as both a starter and a reliever, but he never really caught on. They let him go before the 1985 season.

He caught on again with the Texas Rangers and enjoyed a decent 1985 season in relief at AAA. He returned in 1986 and found his way to the majors.

After his strong 1987 season, he scuffled early on in the 1988 season. The Rangers decided to move on from him, deciding to try out Mitch Williams - who himself would struggle but become a pretty good pitcher soon after. Williams himself would be traded to the Cubs after the season in an otherwise underwhelming package for Jamie Moyer and Rafael Palmeiro, The Rangers won that trade. The Yankees picked up Mohorcic for Cecilio Guante, formerly a pretty strong reliever, but he only gave the Rangers 0.3 WAR for the rest of 1988 and 1989.

Mohorcic, on the other hand, actually pitched very well for New York, and gave the pinstripes 0.8 WAR in only 22 and two-thirds innings. He was dreadful in 1989 though, being “worth” -1.2 WAR. Mohorcic even spent time in the minors, where he actually pitched very well. Probably because of those good minor league innings, he did catch on in 1990 with the Montreal Expos, pitching well at AAA, and had OK results with 0.6 WAR in 53 innings with the big club. He hung up his cleats after that.

Dave Mohorcic as a Closer?

To be fair, Mohorcic isn’t really someone you’d consider a prototypical closer type pitcher. He walked guys liked a power pitcher, but struck out guys like a finesse pitcher. When he limited the walks, he was pretty successful. But, like a lot of relief guys that pitched to contact, you rely so much on the defense that it’s hard to stay consistent for long periods of time.

Mohorcic hearkens back to the old days of grinding out game after game. This is before bullpens became more specialized. You were either a mop-up guy or a back-end guy like a set-up man or a closer. Mohorcic gained a reputation in the minors as being a shutdown relief pitcher. While he didn’t blow anyone away with peripheral stats, it’s actually possible that Mohorcic could’ve kept pitching and ate some late innings for a few more years.

For my Junk Wax dynasty, I’d consider Mohorcic as a great candidate to serve as a middle reliever or a late inning guy strictly against right-handed batters in a 3+ run game. His platoon splits weren’t great (.247/.309/.364 against RHB and a whopping .305/.351/.446 against LHB). This was a guy who tied Mike Marshall for the major league record of pitching in 13 straight games. It’s hard not to want a guy like that on your team. He showed up and gave his best. In an age of bullpen specialization like today, he’d actually probably have fared a lot better.

In Junk Wax Dynasty, we look at players from the “Junk Wax” era of baseball cards and find the hidden gems from 1987 to 1993. For this installment, we take a look at the career year of a San Diego Padres utility player by the name of Randy Ready.

How many Randy Ready cards from 1987 were put into bicycle spokes? Probably a lot. Funny thing is, utility infielder Randy Ready actually had a career year in 1987. According to Baseball Reference, his performance that year netted the San Diego Padres 5.8 Wins Above Replacement. To put that in perspective, that’s the same number that a young Barry Bonds put up that year. Considering that the Padres acquired Ready in 1986 for a player to be named later that had a career War of -0.1 WAR, the Friars were quite pleased with his performance.

Before we get into that career year, though, it’s important to know what was going on in Randy’s life at the time. This dude dealt with tragedy the year before.. Check this out:

“On June 13, 1986, the day Ready played his first game as a Padre after having been acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers, [Randy’s wife] Dorene collapsed on the floor of their home in Tucson. She was unconscious for 7 to 10 minutes. During much of that time, her brain was deprived of oxygen.”

Oh, boy. That ended Ready’s season right there, so he could go be with his wife and three young sons. His wife had suffered a heart attack that left her with permanent brain damage, and she never recovered from it, So, Randy and his sister Cindy had to raise the children. Later, it would be foudn that some diet pills that his wife was prescribed were what gave her the heart attack. A few years later, a jury awarded the family more than $25 million in a settlement.

Of course, that eventual money couldn’t make up that loss. Baseball became Randy’s escape. So, it makes what happened that next season even more special.

Ready was a patient hitter who regularly walked more than he struck out. But in 1987, his bat exploded for a .309/.423/.520 batting line for a .943 OPS. That's a 153 OPS+ or 53 percent above league average. He hit a career high 12 home runs and batted in 54 runs. He added 7 steals but was caught three times, so he only added a bit of value there.

In 1987 he played second base, third base, left field, and right field. Ready was a steady average fielder at both second and third base and a bit below average in the outfield. But in 1997, Ready was worth 5 Total Zone runs above average in only 52 games at second base and 3 runs above average at third. He was even 3 runs above average in left field in only 16 games, partly thanks to an outfield assist. In all, he amassed 1.2 defensive WAR.

Unfortunately for Ready, a lot of this success was due to a .325 batting average on balls in play. His .211 ISO or isolated power was backed up by career highs in doubles with 26 and triples with 6. He'd never show that level of power again. So, with eventual career marks of .280 BABIP and .127 ISO, this was a major outlier.

Was Randy Ready in 1988?

Ready was not bad in 1988 but he would be traded to the Phillies along with John Kruk for outfielder Chris James. Obviously, Kruk would go on to be very good. But, it got worse for the Padres. James would be OK, but the Padres would trade James along with Sandy Alomar and Carlos Baerga for Joe Carter. Alomar and Baerga would go on to be very good for the Indians, and even Chris James had a strong year in 1990.

Of course, Joe Carter was a good player, but he went on to be terrible for the Padres. So, he was flipped along with Roberto Alomar (future hall of famer) for infielder Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff. McGriff would be good, but Fernandez would be underwhelming offensively. Imagine if the Padres had Kruk, both Alomar, Baerga, and Ready still… Somewhat hilariously, Fernandez would be part of what could have been an unassisted triple play started by - you guessed it - Randy Ready!

Fernandez would actually never be the player he was in Toronto again (with 2.2 WAR in 1991 and 1.1 WAR in 1992), but he would end up having a late career resurgence, ironically with Toronto in 1993, with Cleveland in 1997, and again very ironically with TORONTO in 1998 and 1999. Of course, the Padres only got one good year out of Wally Whitehurst (2.7 WAR). Man, the Padres made a lot of bad moves…

Anyway, back to Randy...

Randy Ready and the Rest of His Career.

Anyway, Ready was never quite as good again after 1987. It’s not hard to imagine why, though, especially with what he had to deal with in his home life. His last really good year was 1991, in which he posted a 1.3 WAR in only 76 games. In that year, he hit .249/.385/.322 for a roughly league average .707 OPS. That batting line included a dreadful .207.294.207 (.501 OPS) against right-handed pitching, but a .265/.418/.367 (.785 OPS) against lefties.

The rest of Ready’s career was plagued by some inconsistency with the glove - having some good defensive seasons and some bad - that overshadowed his strong plate discipline. The good news is, he stuck around in the majors until 1995 and played in Japan for a year in 1996. But looking back now, the real thing that held Ready back from being an above-average super utility player were his platoon splits.

In today’s analytically driven game, Ready would have been strictly a platoon bat that could play second base, third base, and the outfield corners. He would’ve probably been worth 1.0-1.5 WAR in part time duty and perhaps he would’ve settled in at one position, either at second or third base with occasional starts in Left Field or Right Field against a left-handed pitcher. He was also not utilized nearly as much as a pinch hitter as he likely should have, especially in the National League. Still, he cobbled together a decent career as a 25th man, which is hardly something to sneeze at. It’s just interesting that he wasn’t utilized better.

Randy Ready as a Coach and Manager

Randy never really left the game, either. He returned to the game as a minor league manager in 2002, served as the Padres hitting coach for a bit. That stint as hitting coach proved disastrous as the Padres had one of the worst lineups in baseball. Was that his fault, though? Probably not. Anyway, he has continued in the game as a minor league coach and manager. In 2017, he became a minor league manager in the Marlins system.

Ready is definitely well-liked in the game. The teams he’s managed have often made the playoffs and he’s been an overall winning manager. It’s a shame that his playing career really only had a couple of bright spots (1987 and 1991), but he did have quite a ride.

So, the next time you come across a Randy Ready card, especially from 1987 or 1991, don’t be so quick to dismiss them. In fact, he’s the top utility player in my Junk Wax Dynasty. He deserves to be remembered, even if it’s just for that amazing 5 WAR season in the wake of family tragedy.

First off, let me say that Joe Kelly has always been a favorite pitcher of mine. I always felt he was a bit miscast as a starting pitcher, with his max effort delivery and 100-mph fastball. To me, he profiled more as a set-up man or closer. The Los Angeles Dodgers decided to make my aspirations for Joe Kelly come true, signing him to a three-year deal worth about $25 million to bring him back home to California.

There’s only one slight problem here for the Dodgers. I’m not sure he’ll live up to that $8 million-ish a year. Why? To be honest, $8 million a year for a quality set-up man is reasonable - after all, Jeurys Familia just got $30 million over 3 years to set-up Edwin Diaz in Queens, NY. My problem is the problem he’s long had… he walks too many batters.

Let’s be fair, Kelly has been very, very solid for the Sox since movin to the bullpen full time in 2017. He was a passable back-end starter in 2015, and was nowhere as bad as his 4.82 ERA suggested. In 2016, he split time between the bullpen and starting. As a starter, he had a 8.46 ERA in 22 ⅓ innings with 27 strikeouts and 19 walks. But, as a reliever, he had a 1.02 ERA in 17 ⅔ innings with 21 strikeouts against only 5 walks.

So, in 2017, the Red Sox did what they should have done right away when they acquired Kelly, put him in the bullpen full-time. Yes, originally Kelly only wanted to be a starter - I remember this clearly. But, the Sox finally convinced him that being able to throw his 100-mph at full strength for an inning or two was clearly a better option for him AND the team.

Kelly responded with a 2.79 ERA in 54 games and 58 innings in 2017. He had a good strikeout rate (8.07 K/9), but a questionable walk rate (4.19). His 0.7 fWAR (FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement) that year is decided by his 3.49 FIP, a result of all of those walks not coming back to haunt him. His 1.3 bWAR (Baseball-Reference WAR) which considers his ERA is much sunnier.

Kelly’s 2018 season showed the walks catching up to him a bit, posting a 4.39 ERA in only 65 and ⅔ innings over 73 games. However, his 3.57 FIP showed he was pretty much the same pitcher. So, fWAR rewarded him with an identical 0.7 WAR, while bWAR was less forgiving with a 0.5 WAR mark. The upside is that despite a slightly higher walk rate (4.39 BB/9), he did strike out more batters (9.3 K/9). Kelly was also excellent in the playoffs, including 6 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts against the Dodgers.

So, is a 0.7 WAR reliever worth $8 million a year? Let’s take a look at his 2019 Steamer Projection: 35 innings in 35 games, with a 3.48 ERA (3.52 FIP) 9.9 K/9 and 3.62 BB/9. As a set-up man, he’s probably going to pitch closer to 65 innings. Still, that performance would be worth a whopping 0.3 WAR. With 1 WAR of player value worth about $8 million on the open market, that would a $3 million a year middle reliever, not an $8 million a year set-up man.

Of course, projections are only projections. The point is that walks have held back Kelly in the past. They haven’t kept him from being a good bullpen piece, certainly. His 98.5 mph average fastball is complemented by a decent curveball and passable slider and changeup. So, the stuff is there for him to be a 1 WAR reliever, certainly.

There’s a good chance that Kelly kicks things into a new gear back home in SoCal. (He’s from Anaheim). This could be an OK deal, even if he simply replicates something between his 2017 and 2018 for three straight years. I’ve always been a Joe Kelly fan and if he can find a way to trim his walks a bit more, the Dodgers may have been right all along. The potential is there, and in any case, Joe Kelly is a rich man and he’s back home.

First off, congratulations for Andrew McCutchen guaranteeing himself $50 million over the next three years. Also, congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies for having a slightly above league-average left fielder for the next three seasons. There’s potential for a fourth season at $15 million, with a $3 million buyout. While this may seem like a bit of an overpay for a 32-year-old outfielder in decline, it’s really not.

Steamer projects McCutchen to have a fine 2019: 2.6 WAR. It’s not hard to see McCutchen being worth at least 2.0 WAR in 2020, and perhaps 1.5 WAR in 2021. That’s being conservative. He could, in fact, be a bit better. A lot of his value is actually tied up in his plate discipline and modest power. His declining defense is really where he’s been losing a lot of value.

McCutchen still has speed, although he’s not the plus baserunner that he once was. Still, McCutchen is at least 20-25 percent better than league-average with the bat. He’s at least 2 full wins better than anyone else the Phillies had to trot out there. So, at about $16 million a year, they’re paying market rate for about 2 WAR of production a year. That seems more than fair.

While McCutchen isn’t the top Fantasy Baseball outfielder that he once was, he’s a perfectly good “real life” outfielder. Many people have already said he’ll replace a lot of the lost offense from Carlos Santana, and that’s true. Rhys Hoskins moving back to first base from left field probably already saved the Phillies at least a win. So, this puts the Phillies forward even more in the run prevention department, as well as the run production department.

This is probably about a market-value contract. There’s no lost draft pick due to McCutchen being ineligible for a qualifying offer after being traded. McCutchen doesn’t even have to be that good in 2020 or good at all 2021 for this to still be an upgrade. It also didn't stop the Phillies signing Bryce Harper. It’s an overall good move for the Phillies and gives McCutchen his last big payday. It’s a win for everyone involved. A good season in Philly in 2019 and beyond should be very good for Andrew McCutchen rookie cards, so definitely keep an eye out for those.

With two years and $38 million remaining on his contract, the Toronto Blue Jays decided to release the oft-injured shortstop and buy out his remaining two years. While that is a staggering amount of money to pay a player to simply go away, there is good reason for this move.

The Jays already have a fairly good young shortstop in Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. Plus, Devon Travis is still there at second base, with Brandon Drury backing him up. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. will be holding down third base. While it would seem prudent to give Tulo a shot at rebuilding his value, keeping him around simply didn’t make sense for a team that has youth on their side.

As for the 35-year old shortstop, it’s hard to say if he can even remain at shortstop for a full season. Indeed, the projection systems see him as a part-time player at this point. But, this is actually where things get interesting.

While those numbers are a far cry from what the baseball world came to expect from Tulo before his injury-marred 2017 and his lost 2018 (due to bone spurs in both ankles) that means if he can even play half-a-season, he’s still valuable. Now that the Blue Jays bought out his contract, Tulowitzki’s services can be had for the league minimum for each of the next two seasons. So, who wants Tulo for two years and roughly $1.2 million total?

The question is, where does he play at this point? It’s possible he could play first, second, third, or shortstop. With league-average offense and the ability to not embarrass with the glove, it seems like he could fit anywhere, right?

Tulowitzki to the Orioles?

The Baltimore Orioles have Jonathan Villar at the top of their Shortstop depth chart. While speedy and not a zero with the bat, it’s possible that Tulo is still the better fielder at this point. There’s Breyvic Valera, too. Also, second base is pretty wide open, although the solid Renato Nunez probably can hold down third base. Still, there’s some sense here, especially at league minimum for a year.

No one else in the AL East is in desperate need of a shortstop. The Indians, Twins, and Royals certainly don’t need one. The White Sox are committed to Tim Anderson at short. So, who’s next?

Tulowitzki to the Tigers?

As a team that really needs to rebuild, Tulo may make some sense for the Tigers. Ronny Rodriguez tops their depth chart at short. While he’s probably about as good as Tulo at this point, second base is pretty open, too. So, a one-year deal for league minimum makes sense here, too. Like the Orioles, the Tigers have a solid young third baseman in Jeimer Candelario.

In the AL West, the Angels infield is solid. The Astros have Carlos Correa. The A’s have Marcus Semien. The Mariners are probably OK with JP Crawford. Elvis Andrus isn’t what he was with the Rangers, but still more a given than Tulo.

That makes only two teams in the AL that could realistically use TUlo. Neither of those teams would surrender talent for Tulo or take on that contract. He’s pretty much a veteran clubhouse leader who can provide some value off the bench for those two. Both the Orioles and Tigers could benefit from him just being there.

What about in the NL?

Tulowitzki to the Marlins?

While the Braves, Mets, Natinoals and Phillies are set at shortstop, the Marlins shortstop situation is a bit more unclear. Of course, they are in talks about Miguel Andujar - who can technically “play” shortstop. Right now, J.T. Riddle tops their depth chart. Miguel Rojas is there, too. The Marlins also have veteran Martin Prado hanging around. Still, you could see how Tulo could be a nice veteran presence on a rebuilding club. If he ends up playing mostly full-time and clobbers 20 homers, that would be nice. But he makes less sense in Miami than in Baltimore or Detroit. Also, would Tulo even want to play there?

Tulowitzki to the Brewers?

While this isn’t a perfect fit necessarily, the Brewers have Hernan Perez topping their second base depth chart and Orlando Arcia at shortstop. Really, it depends on how much stock you put in Arcia, but at this point, Tulo is projecting roughly as valuable as Arcia in about half the playing time. Plus, he’s far more valuable than Perez, and that means that Arcia can just play where Tulo doesn’t. Then again, the Brewers want to compete and Tulo’s health is not a given. That being said, the commitment is so minimal. It could be a creative fit.

Tulowitzki to the Cubs?

With Addison Russell’s future with the Cubs up in the air - due to the domestic violence allegations - Tulo seems like he could be a stopgap solution. While not a natural fit, he could still be a useful utility infielder even with Russell there.

While no one else in the NL Central needs a shortstop, there is an intriguing possibility in the NL West…

Tulowitzki to the Diamondbacks?

The Diamondbacks are in a weird place. They aren’t quite in a rebuilding phase, as they are still a team that can contend, but they also just traded Goldschmidt - whose contract was expiring after 2019 anyway - and are looking to trade Zack Greinke. They also just lost Patrick Corbin in free agency. This is a team that needs to retool on the fly. Tulowitzki is not only cheap, but moving back to high altitude in Phoenix, Arizona - albeit not quite as high as Denver, Colorado - could boost his offensive numbers a bit. It may be worth a shot.

Tulowitzki to the Padres?

With the Dodgers, Giants, and Rockies set at shortstop, the only other possible landing spot for Tulo would be San Diego. The Padres are just a mess, with Luis Urias and Fernando Tatis Jr. topping the depth chart at shortstop. Second base doesn’t look much better. Tulowitzki would at the very least make things interesting. The price is certainly right and it’s not like he’s blocking anyone.

The 26-year old left-handed starting pitcher, Matthew Kent, is one of the more intriguing pitchers in the Boston Red Sox farm system. He’s no longer considered a prospect at his “advanced” age, but he looks to be a pretty solid pitcher due for a chance to debut in the MLB in 2019 or 2020. He just broke into AAA last year, and it wasn’t a pretty first start. But, Kent’s track record since being taken in the 13th round of the 2015 MLB draft has been very solid.

In his minor league career, Kent’s never struck out many batters, but he hasn’t walked many, either. He’s had a fairly consistent 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which is definitely above-average. Kent held left-handed batters to a .241 average in 2018 in AA, but only a .264 average against righties. So, he doesn’t have obvious platoon splits, meaning he’s a realistic multi-inning option.

The MLE’s (Major League Equivalents) for Kent in 2019 aren’t fantastic, but they are passable. He’s never been that susceptible to long balls, so the ZiPS projection of 1.02 HR/9 is probably more in line with his past history. It’s possible that the strikeout rates are a bit low and the walk rates may be a bit high. Even then, a starter being worth 1.3 WAR is worth about $10 million on a one-year deal on the open market. This guy has potential.

That Kent projects so well to essentially be the Sox’s 6th starter speaks well to his ability. He’s not someone you ever hear much about either. He could log meaningful MLB innings late in 2019 or 2020.

There’s no way this author can talk about the Red Sox third base situation without continuing to grieve over the loss of Travis Shaw. Alas, he was traded - along with three minor leaguers - to the Milwaukee Brewers for reliever Tyler Thornburg. Yes, that Tyler Thornburg… he of the lost 2017 season and replacement level 2018 season in 24 innings. He was so bad that the Red Sox didn’t even guarantee his $1.75 million contract for the 2019 season…

Meanwhile, Travis Shaw has been raking at Miller Field, while all the while playing his usual brand of solid defense at third base and even second base. He’s been worth 3.5 WAR in 2017 and 3.6 WAR in 2018! That’s while making the league minimum salary. In his first year of arbitration, he’s due for another 2.6 WAR according to Steamer… Whoops…

The good news for the Red Sox is that master team-builder Dave Dombrowski is able to cover for his only major misstep with the team. The Sox have a very solid young player in Rafael Devers - who could be just as valuable as Shaw in 2019. They also have two young players that may be decent players at the hot corner at some point, as well. Let’s see what the Sox have here.

Devers is only 22 years old. He had a 1 WAR season with a .240/.298/.433 batting line and 21 HR. That’s not bad for a 21 year old, who was probably a bit overmatched. His -13 Defensive Runs Saved and -5.2 UZR/150 show he wasn’t quite ready with the glove, either. If the projections are right and he becomes simply below average with the glove, he’s an above average player. ZiPS is probably right to be skeptical about his defense. Even then, he’s probably at least an average regular - which for the league minimum and his power upside, the Sox will be happy to take.

Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez are certain to see perhaps a dozen games apiece at third base. But, you really don’t want either holding down the position all year. The good news is that the Red Sox are not devoid of third base prospects.

Chavis isn’t even on Steamer’s radar to have much more than a 7 at-bat cup of coffee. However, it agrees with ZiPS that Chavis is very likely to be about what Devers was last year in 2019 if he played full-time in the Majors. Of course, he’s going to be 24 in August 2019. His defense is known to be shaky, too, which is why he’s been shifting towards first base. The good news is that Chavis could still have some value. He would actually worth be giving a shot if he shows promise at AAA and Devers is failing or hurt.

After all, Chavis did hit .303/.388/.508 in 139 AA at-bats and .273/.294/.545 in 34 AAA at-bats, with an 80-game PED suspension mixed in. The power is real, and he has enough plate discipline to not embarrass himself. If he can become a passable third baseman, or even first baseman, he actually does have a future. It could even be late 2019 or early 2020.

Bobby Dalbec

2019 Steamer Projection: .229/.295/.432, 0 defense

2019 ZiPS Projection: .200/.280/.407, 0 defense, 0.5 WAR

Dalbec probably has no business being in the MLB in 2019, but if he got 450 or so at-bats, he’s probably going to be fairly above replacement level. Of course, that’s considering neutral defense. Scouts consider his defense to be adequate and he has an above-average arm. So, netural defense is probably fine to consider.

In 2018, Dalbec destroyed A+ ball with a .256/.372/.573 and 26 HR in 419 plate appearances, albeit with a 31% strikeout rate. He hit .261.323.514 in 124 plate appearance, but with a 37% strikeout rate. Steamer is a bit more optimistic about Dalbec’s bat than ZiPS going into his age-24 season. The strikeouts are concerning, though.

If Dalbec can trim the strikeouts and fare OK at AAA, there’s still a possibility that Dalbec tastes the majors in 2020. At any rate, he’s the Sox #12 prospect at the moment.

Even after essentially giving away Travis Shaw, it seems like the Sox aren’t in that bad of shape. Of course, one of Chavis or Dalbec becoming at least a passable regular at either first or third base would be a grand development for the 2020 season. If both pan out, along with Devers, the Red Sox are in good shape. Otherwise, that Travis Shaw trade could haunt the Red Sox for awhile. Still, when that’s the worst move you make and still win a championship, you’re doing OK.

After Ian Kinsler didn’t hit for the Red Sox after being acquired by them late in the season, Boston is looking forward to the return of Dustin Pedroia in 2019. Not only is Pedroia coming off an injury, but he’s not getting any younger, either. The good news is that he projects to be a league average player, and if his knee is sufficiently healed, he could be better. The Sox also hope for more of the same from super-utility player Brock Holt and a rebound from Eduardo Nunez.

Going into his age 35 season, it remains to be seen what Pedroia has left in the tank after missing most of 2017. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that his batting line will be close to the Steamer projection, but many Sox fans will take the over if he’s healthy. Also, depending on his knee’s health, he could provide even more value on defense and hopefully, even be a positive on the basepaths.

He’s earning $15 million in 2019, so if he’s just a 2 win player, he’s earned it. He earns $13 million in 2020 and $12 million in 2021. It’s not like Pedroia is an albatross, but it would be really nice to see him finish his career as at least a league-average regular before bowing out after 2021.

As a super-utility player is meant to do, Holt kept the Red Sox at least respectable at second base in 2018. He was actually 6th in position player WAR for the 2018 Red Sox. One of the best utility men in baseball in 2014 and 2015, he was mediocre in 2016 and terrible in 2017. Only 30 years of age, Holt is very likely to match his projection, and possibly beat it in overall value if he racks up the plate appearances. Struggles from Rafael Devers at third could mean more time for Holt, as well. He was worth 1.4 WAR in 2018, and it’s not impossible for him to be worth that again - although hopefully the majority of that value is distributed among other positions, too.

Nunez was a great pickup for the 2016 Sox. It wasn’t hard to see why the Red Sox signed him to a $6 million one-year deal with a $5 million player option - which Nunez picked up in late October 2018. Unsurprisingly, Nunez isn’t expected to receive many plate appearances at second base with Pedroia and Holt around. If he does have a batting line close to his career average - which is what he’s projected to do - and continues to be neutral on the bases and in the field, he’ll be easily worth his $5 million. He still serves as insurance for Pedroia, as long as he doesn’t repeat a -14 Defensive Runs Saved at second...

Tzu-Wei Lin and Marco Rodriguez are also in the second base picture, but if the team has to give them at-bats, something has gone wrong. They are depth you hope you don’t find yourself having to test. Overall, this is a group that projects for about 2.5 WAR, and the over is not hard at all to see if Pedey is actually healthy.

2019 ZiPS Insights

With the release of the 2019 ZiPS projections from Dan Szymborski, there are a few more projections to consider. The most interesting is the departing Ian Kinsler. He had a decent 2018 season overall, although he struggled badly with the bat with the Sox. He projects for .252/.317/.386 plus 8 defensive runs for 1.9 WAR over a full season. It’s unlikely they reunite with Pedroia locked up, though.

Farm hand Tony Renda projects about replacement level, as does Ivan De Jesus. Chad La Guerra and Brett Netzer aren’t looking to help at the MLB level any time soon, either. Second base is definitely a position that has little depth after Pedroia and Holt - Nunez is a stretch as we saw in 2018 at the position. Still, if Pedroia is capable, this is a position where the Sox should be fine.

In Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce, the Red Sox have a roughly league-average platoon at first base. Moreland can play against right-handed pitching and Pearce can play against lefties, who he mashes. Sam Travis and Blake Swihart are in the mix there, as well.

The most interesting outside candidate is Michael Chavis, coming off PED suspension and mediocre results, who is projected for a .248/.300/.439 batting line. The good news is that the Steamer projections are fairly conservative in this author’s opinion. Let’s take a look.

Moreland was a shrewd signing by the Red Sox in the 2016 off season that worked out very well. His subsequent two-year deal has also worked out well, although you’d want more out of your starting first baseman than 0.6 WAR. In a pure platoon situation, it’s very possible that Moreland greatly outperforms his .251/.325/.441 batting line projection. In 2018, he hit only .242/.305/.379 against lefties and .246/.331/.450 against righties. He’s only earning $6.5 million in 2018, just as he did in 2017, so he’s not exactly breaking the bank. Also, he is a plus fielder. With a little luck and having Pearce around all season, he could break 1 WAR

Since Pearce is primarily a lefty masher, it’s not outrageous to expect about 1.1 WAR from Pearce. He’s making $6.25 million in 2019, about the same as Moreland. He’s a worse fielder, but if he mostly plays first, that won’t matter so much. Also, if he keeps up his improved walk rate from 2018, he’s likely even more valuable than this.

The other guys may not amount to much, although Chavis is interesting in that he projects for a nearly league-average batting line. He also can play third base, if erratically. If Chavis shows something this year in AAA, the Sox may call him up in 2019.

All in all, this is an above average group at first base. It’s hardly exciting, but there’s a little upside here. This is not an area the Sox have to work on right now, especially if Chavis / Sam Travis can essentially replace Moreland in 2020.

As a group, the Boston Red Sox are a bit underwhelming at the catching position. Steamer projects the three catchers on the Red Sox roster - Vazquez, Leon, and Swihart - for 1.6 WAR. That’s a bit below league average, although both Vazquez and Leon are above average catchers defensively. Of course, Vazquez and Leon combined for NEGATIVE 1.7 WAR last season, when the team won 108 games. It’s most likely that they don’t repeat that. Let’s take a look.

Vazquez had a dreadful year with the bat in 2018, but it was mostly due to a .237 batting average on balls in play (career .293 BABIP). He’ll probably never be a fantastic hitter, but the Sox hope he’s more like his 2017 with the bat. If he hits .290/.330/.400, he’ll be about a league average catcher with his glovework and positive pitch framing marks. Even if he’s closer to .260/.300/.370, he’s still a decent “real life” catcher, although you wouldn’t want to touch him in fantasy baseball..

Like Vazquez, Sandy Leon had a terrible regular season with the bat in 2018. Also like Vazquez, he had horrible luck on batted balls in play (.226 BABIP / .290 BABIP career). While it’s unlikely he’ll have another year like his 2016 - .310/.369/.476 in 78 games for 2.5 WAR (!) - it’s not impossible. Still, his Steamer projection is in line with his career numbers, and 0.3 WAR is acceptable.

Swihart is a fairly forgotten man at this point. It’s very likely he greatly outperforms that projection. He’s expected to remain at catcher, although he’s been passable in left field and first base. The bar is so low for catchers at this point that if he impresses in spring training, he may even be trade bait if the Sox have no room for him on the roster - which is likely.

While catcher is definitely not a strength for the 2019 Red Sox, it’s very easy for them to beat what they got out of the position in 2018. It’s not a position of clear weakness that the Sox need to address, and Vazquez still has upside. Plus, Leon has shown the tendency to get hot, so this could end up being a lot better than the C-minus grade we have to give them right now.

In their search for a strong backup catcher to play behind Buster Posey, the Giants signed Cameron Rupp. Formerly a solid backup catcher with power with the Phillies, Rupp bounced around in 2018, playing with three different teams at their AAA affiliates.

Rupp caught fire with the Rangers AAA team, hitting .274/.346/.540 albeit with a 34.6 percent strikeout rate. Then the Rangers let him go, where Rupp would go on to struggle with the Twins and Mariners. Overall, it was a pretty forgettable and frustrating season for him.

Defensively Rupp is not known for his framing skills. Really, he's not well regarded as a backstop overall. However, he has power, and he could work with Posey on some things.

Projection system Steamer doesn't like him at all in 2019. It projects a .202/.275/.350 batting line with no playing time. Rupp should display more raw power than that. Baseball reference lists his Marcel projection, which is .233/.302/.414 in 233 plate appearances. That seems like a more likely outcome.

Currently, the Giants have Aramis Garcia as their backup catcher. He's a better defensive catcher, but offers nowhere near Rupp's power potential. It will be interesting to see if Rupp displaces Garcia when spring training is out in 2019.

The Atlanta Braves added a potential utility player in Andres Blanco. Entering his age 35 season, he figures to add some roster depth. A perfectly adequate defender at second base and shortstop, the Braves are happy to have his veteran presence around.

Blanco has never hit much in the major leagues outside of a hot 2015 where he did a lot of damage off the bench as a pinch hitter and third baseman. That year he hit .292/.360/.502 with 7 home runs. Interestingly, third base has been Blanco's worst position defensively.

However, after a couple of down years, Blanco hit .271/.362/.435 at AAA for the Brewers in 2018. Steamer projects Blanco for a .232/.298/.355 batting line. With his league average defense at second and third base, as well as the ability to cameo at third base, first base, and the outfield corners, he provides useful depth. If he catches fire, the Braves could enjoy one last hurrah from Blanco.

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